Treatment of arthrosis of the knee joint at home

Osteoarthritis of the knee is a disorder of the hyaline cartilage that surrounds the oval projections of the tibia and femur.This chronic disease develops slowly and constantly progresses, due to which the hyaline cartilage is gradually destroyed.In the later stages of the disease, the damage affects the joint and is transmitted to a part of the bone located in the immediate vicinity.

If you have osteoarthritis of the knee joint, you can treat it at home, but before doing so, you should familiarize yourself with the basic principles.First of all, it is important to understand that therapy is a complex process.Treatment includes medication, diet, massage, exercise therapy, and physical therapy.

Arthrosis of the knee joint is called gonarthrosis, osteoarthrosis, defarthrosis.These are all different names for the same disease.

What is knee osteoarthritis?

Gonarthrosis is a progressive disease of intra-articular cartilage in which the nutrition of the tissue surrounding the joint is disturbed.Osteoarthritis mostly affects older people.Less often, professional athletes or people engaged in heavy physical work are affected by this disease.

Symptoms

The main question that interests people with signs of arthrosis is the symptoms and treatment of the disease at home.Before you see a doctor, don't ignore the signals your body is giving you.The following symptoms indicate that you have gonarthrosis:

• pain that occurs during running, vigorous walking or climbing stairs;
• swelling, which is expressed by slight swelling of the knee cap;
• accumulation of fluid in the joint, which leads to an increase in its volume (the joint swells and becomes like a ball);
• feeling of stiffness or tightness in the knees;
• pain that occurs when getting up from a sitting position and the first steps after getting up from a seat;
• heaviness in the knees;
• limited mobility;
• sharp pain with every attempt to bend the leg.

The severity of symptoms depends on the degree of gonarthrosis.In the early stages, the pain occurs rarely and disappears when the patient walks a certain distance.In the later stages, the signs of the disease appear constantly and do not subside even at night.

Degrees of arthrosis

Doctors distinguish between 2 types of gonarthrosis: primary and secondary.Primary osteoarthritis occurs in elderly patients and is associated with age-related changes in their body.Secondary gonarthrosis is the result of injuries, pathologies and developmental disorders.This type of gonarthrosis can appear at any age.

There are 3 degrees (stages) of disease development:

1. Manifestations of gonarthrosis in the first stage are mild.Dull pain occurs irregularly.This most often happens in cases where the joint is exposed to long-term and heavy load.In the first stage of the disease, there is no deformation of the joint, only slight swelling is possible.
2. In the second phase, the symptoms of gonarthrosis appear at regular intervals.The nature of the pain changes: the discomfort becomes acute, intense and long-lasting.Additional signs: appearance of crunching, stiffness and slight deformation of the joint.
3. The third stage of gonarthrosis: clinical manifestations intensify to the maximum.The pain becomes constant, walking is difficult, the swelling increases, and the temperature in the joint area rises.

In severe cases, fragments of broken osteophytes appear - growths on the surface of bone tissue.This leads to clogging of the joints, which is manifested by acute pain.Because of this, the patient cannot move independently.

Most often, patients ask how to treat arthrosis of the 2nd degree.At this stage, the vast majority of patients turn to a doctor.However, a visit to a medical facility should not be delayed.The sooner you start treating gonarthrosis, the greater the chances that the treatment will give good results.

Reasons for the development of the disease

The occurrence of gonarthrosis is explained by a complex of factors.Doctors identify a number of causes of the disease:

1. Injuries: meniscus damage, tibia fractures, ligament damage.The pathology develops 3-5 years after the injury, but in some cases it appears much earlier - after 3-4 months.
2. Increased load on the joint.Gonarthrosis often affects professional athletes and people engaged in heavy physical work.The risk group includes people who started playing sports after the age of 40.They do not take age-related changes into account, which is why they put abnormal stress on the joints.
3. Excess body weight.Excess weight causes increased axial load on the joints.The latter leads to microtrauma, meniscus damage and ligament rupture.The higher the patient's weight, the greater the risk of developing the disease.
4. Past illnesses.Pathologies that can eventually lead to gonarthrosis include psoriatic, rheumatoid or reactive arthritis, gout and ankylosing spondylitis.
5. Hereditary factor.The disease is caused by the weakness of the ligament apparatus, which is genetically determined.

Doctors identify several other reasons: metabolic disorders, congenital anomalies, fragility of capillaries, circulatory pathologies, disorders of the hormonal and endocrine system, old injuries that have not been treated.

Prevention

Prevention of arthrosis of the knee joints includes a number of the following measures:

• maintaining an optimal body weight through proper nutrition and dosed physical activity;
• drink 1.5-2 liters of clean water per day;
• be careful when playing sports;
• Consult a doctor immediately if you feel discomfort in the knee area.

Experts recommend creating a diet taking into account the individual needs of bone and cartilage tissue.It is strictly forbidden to adhere to diets based on the rejection of certain foods (for example, grains).This can lead to metabolic disorders and subsequent pathologies of the musculoskeletal system.

How to treat arthrosis of the knee joint at home?

To get rid of gonarthrosis at home, it is necessary to take a comprehensive approach to treatment.Therapy includes medication, diet and physical therapy procedures.Performing a massage for arthrosis is an equally important matter that should be entrusted to medical professionals.Self-medication can lead to worsening of the disease.

Drug treatment

Before treating knee osteoarthritis, you should understand how to relieve knee pain.Taking medication is the main part of the treatment aimed at eliminating pain and restoring cartilage tissue.

Medicines for arthrosis

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are prescribed to relieve inflammation and associated discomfort.This is a group of drugs that have a complex effect: they relieve pain, calm inflammation and lower the temperature.In the treatment of gonarthrosis, they are prescribed intravenously or intramuscularly.

Another group of painkillers are COX-2 NSAIDs.This category of drugs has a similar therapeutic effect, but the side effects of these drugs are milder.Medicines of this group can be used for pain relief for several months.

Painkillers help relieve pain, but do not affect the cause of the disease.To cure gonarthrosis, you need to take chondroprotectors, hyaluronic acid, ointments and other drugs prescribed by a specialist.

Chondroprotectors

Chondroprotectors are a group of drugs intended for the restoration of cartilage tissue and the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis.Preparations of this group are made from animal or plant raw materials, hyaluronic acid, collagen and chondroitin sulfate.Medicines of the latest generation are a combination of the above substances.They are also supplemented with polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamins.

Chondroprotectors are available in the form of gels, ointments, tablets and solutions for injections.

Fats

Ointments, creams and gels are products suitable for rubbing.They have a number of effects:

• heat the affected area;
• calm inflammation;
• activate local blood circulation and distract from pain.

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid is a substance that is part of epithelial, nerve and connective tissue.Preparations based on this component act on the joint in the same way as natural joint lubrication, which is why they got another name - "liquid prostheses".

It creates a protective film on the surface of the damaged tissue.This helps prevent further destruction of the cartilage tissue and improves the gliding of the surfaces that come into contact with each other during movement.

Compresses with medicines

Ointments and solutions in the form of poultices can be used to improve efficiency.Ointments, creams or gels are applied to the affected area using a napkin and secured with a bandage.A plastic film is placed on top, and a cotton cloth is placed on it.You can keep this wrap for no longer than an hour.

Folk remedies

Traditional medicine in combination with traditional medicine gives excellent results.

Rubbing and baths

The rub is a mixture of medicated solutions that is rubbed into the skin on the affected area.The purpose is to improve blood flow, warm the painful area and distract the patient from pain.It is recommended to use this method in combination with a sauna or a warm bath.First, you need to warm your body with warm water or a steam room in the bathroom, and then apply a mixture of healing solutions to the painful area.

Infusions and decoctions

Infusions and decoctions will help relieve pain and improve the patient's condition in the initial stages of gonarthrosis.The following folk remedies are used to alleviate the symptoms: black bean tea, infusion of lemon, garlic and nettle, and decoction of beef hooves.

Compresses

You can make compresses based on natural ingredients yourself.They are performed in the same way as wrapping with fats and solutions.For the base, you can use natural honey, clay, camphor oil and young dandelion leaves.This compress can be left overnight.

Exercise therapy and procedures

Therapeutic gymnastics

Performing exercises for knee arthrosis at home is one of the most effective ways to self-treat this disease.Physiotherapy exercises are not prescribed for patients with exacerbations of gonarthrosis.You can perform exercises only in periods when there is practically no pain and when mobility is not limited.

Therapeutic massage

In gonarthrosis, experts allow self-massage of the knee joint.In order for the massage technique to give the expected result, it is important to do it correctly.The knee joint massage technique is as follows:

1. Sit on a chair, bend your knees at a right angle.To make it more comfortable, place a bench or chair under your feet.
2. During the process, one hand should be behind the knee and the other in front.
3. There are several ways to massage the knee: it is allowed to rub with the edge of the palm, with the hand bent into a fist or soft circular stroking with the pads of the fingers.

Experts recommend knee massage for arthrosis at home up to 5 times a day.The total duration of the procedure is up to 15 minutes.Contraindications for massage: acute stage of the disease, bleeding, vascular thrombosis, elevated temperature, fever.

Thermal treatments

This is an effective method of treatment used in combination with other methods.The procedure is performed after the acute stage of gonarthrosis subsides.This treatment option is aimed at dilating blood vessels, activating metabolic processes, accelerating regeneration and increasing joint mobility.Pain relief is another bonus provided by thermal procedures.

Device for magnetic therapy

There is a device that emits a magnetic field that comes into contact with charged particles in the body and accelerates metabolic processes.Thanks to this, the renewal of cartilage tissue is stimulated, the production of natural lubrication increases and metabolic processes improve.

The device is often used in medical institutions and sanatoriums.Therapy with the device can also be carried out at home.The kit includes detailed instructions for use.

Food

A patient with gonarthrosis should lose excess weight and eliminate harmful foods from his diet.Below are two charts to help you lose weight and eat foods that are healthy for your joints.

Useful and prohibited foods

When treating arthrosis, doctors recommend maintaining a normal weight and adhering to the following diet:

Healthy products	Prohibited products
lean meat; mineral water without gas; walnuts; cereals; poultry and fish; fermented milk products; bone broth meat jelly; chicken eggs.	tomatoes; Refined oils; mayonnaise; fast food; alcohol; coffee; flour and sweet products; fruits with a high acid content; sausages; sausages; fatty meat; paprika; white cabbage.

You must eat often and in small portions (up to 300 g).The last meal should be no later than 2-3 hours before going to bed.

An example of a diet

Sample menu:

Breakfast	Lunch	Afternoon snack	Dinner	Late dinner
buckwheat porridge with mushrooms - 150 g; a piece of rye bread - 20 g.	jelly baked on pork legs - 250 g.	glass of kefir - 250 ml.	mashed potatoes - 100 g; baked meatloaf - 80 g.	chicken breast - 80 g.

You can add all allowed products to the menu.The main rule is not to overload the body with heavy food and eat according to schedule.